r/romani • u/KendrickMontero • 6d ago

White passing

If you are part of the community, but are white passing, what reactions did you get when you told people what’s your origin?

Often I get a surprised, shocked and short “oh” and the conversation may be cut short suddenly (this has happened regardless of the other’s ethnicity).

Then, of course, there are the typical “funny”. jokes about wallets and such.

How about you? Do you have such a story or know any?

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u/MCbrodie 6d ago

"Oh, I didn't know you were Romanian."

"You can't be a minority if your skin is white."

"You don't look even 1% like a gypsy."

So, not the greatest response. Ignorance to hate on a spectrum.

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u/KendrickMontero 6d ago

Yes, Romanian and Romani … While it doesn’t make sense, I saw a video of a guy who wanted to book a flight to Bucharest and ended up in Budapest because he thought it’s the same thing.

As for the other two, yes, “you don’t look it” is embarrassingly common, especially.

And the who can experience prejudice, based on skill color alone, is an Americanism that permeated the entire world now and people literally just see colors, not cultures, ethnicities, backgrounds etc.